


Can't Let You Go

by Skylar0Grace



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-06-22
Updated: 2011-06-22
Packaged: 2017-11-27 15:23:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 937
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/663539
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Skylar0Grace/pseuds/Skylar0Grace
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Katara realises what just what is worth giving up - and what isn't.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Can't Let You Go

**Author's Note:**

> Song is ‘All Out Of Love’ by Air Supply. I scribed the lyrics so if there are any mistakes, they’re mine - and I’ve probably been singing them that way my whole life :P

Katara looked out at the water from the bow of the ship and let her thoughts get carried away on the wind. The seasons had begun changing once again and winter was falling, although the further north they went, the warmer the winds got. Winter in the Fire Nation wasn’t nearly as cold as winter at the South Pole but there was still a chill in the air and the nights were longer.

She looked up at the twinkling stars above her and her sad smile fell as tears began making a salty path down her cheeks. Her heart was heavy and whenever she thought about how she’d left him, her heart wrenched and, if possible, seemed to break into even smaller pieces. She tried to reason that he had more important things to do than fighting to stay with her and although it was ridiculous, her tribe still held an unreasonable animosity toward him. It had seemed like the easiest option for her was to leave and she’d left without saying goodbye to spare them both the heartache.

News had reached the South Pole that he was getting married and she had seen the posters proclaiming his engagement. It had completely shocked her and although she’d been devastated, she wanted him to be happy. If it made him happy, then she could live with that, even if she was wishing it had been her. But that night when she’d curled up in bed and brought out the poster from underneath her pillow, she’d taken the time to study him.

He looked thinner than the last time she’d seen him but the lack of a smile had caught her attention. He wasn’t smiling. There weren’t even hints of a smile and although he was standing next to her, it seemed like there were no feelings of affection between them.

  
_I’m lying alone with my head on the phone thinking of you ‘til it hurts_   
_I know you hurt too but what else could we do, tormented and torn apart_   
_I wish I could carry your smile in my heart for times when my life seems so low_   
_It would make believe what tomorrow could bring when today doesn’t really know_   


That night she’d dreamt of him. She dreamt that they’d been sitting in a garden and he’d been watching her bend the water nearby into different shapes, laughing at some of the ridiculous things she’d come up with. She’d woken happy until she realised she was in the South Pole and he was nowhere nearby.

Without even thinking about it, she’d gone onboard the next ship heading out, not even saying goodbye to Sokka or her father and leaving them nothing more than a note.She hadn’t offered an explanation for her actions because she still didn’t know herself. But as the nights passed, she realised that she had one last chance and she couldn’t let him go without being sure.

“Princess Katara? We’re nearly there. Should reach port by morning.”

  
_I want you to come back and carry me home, away from these long, lonely nights_   
_I’m reaching for you, are you feeling it too, does the feeling seem oh so right_   
_And what would you say if I called on you now and said that I can’t hold on_   
_There’s no easy way, it gets harder each day, please love me or I’ll be gone_   


She nodded at the captain and turned back to the water. It was her element, a part of her, but she felt as though she was no longer whole and knew that he was the only thing that could fill that void. She could still bend, still move water as though she _was_ the water, but it didn’t seemed as fulfilling anymore - like when she’d been bending at the South Pole before everything had started. She’d known it, felt that there was more to bending, that there was more that she could do. A part of her had been missing.

And now that she’d found him, recognised the missing part of her spirit in someone else, the one who was her other half, she couldn’t let him go just because of some petty differences that neither of them even had.

  
_I’m all out of love, I’m so lost without you, I know you were right, believing for so long_   
_I’m all out of love, what am I without you, I can’t be too late to say that I was so wrong_   


Katara stepped off the ship and into the bright morning sunshine. Those they got up early for trade were setting up around the docks and a few people were simply milling about. But as she scanned the crowd, here eyes fell on one particular figure and she couldn’t understand why he was alone. Surely he would have been recognised and surrounded by people.

His eyes softened and his mouth moved into an easy smile. Of their own accord, her feet rushed her forward and she found herself in his arms as he drew her into a hug, one hand lightly running through her long hair.

“I heard you were coming...”

“Zuko, I’m so sorry! I should never have left in the first place, I shouldn’t have run- “

She was cut off as he pressed his lips urgently to hers and pulled her in tighter. The bag she’d been holding in her hand fell to the ground as she wrapped her arms around his neck and behind her she felt the water calling to her, the push and pull rhythmic and gentle as though it was now at peace too.


End file.
